EXPERIENCES OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT, WORK ENGAGEMENT AND LIFE SATISFACTION OF LEARNERS IN THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
F.J.P. Swanepoel
Dissertation is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Magister Artium in Labour Relations Management in the Faculty of Humanities (School of Behavioural Sciences) at the North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus.
Supervisor: Dr. E. Keyser Vanderbijlpark
ii DECLARATION
I, Franscina, Johanna, Petronella Swanepoel, hereby declare that all the sources I have used or quoted within the dissertation titled “EXPERIENCES OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT, WORK ENGAGEMENT AND LIFE SATISFACTION OF LEARNERS IN THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY”, is my own work and have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references.
iii REMARKS
The reader is reminded of the following:
This study is according to the Publication Manual (6th edition) of the American Psychological (APA) as well as all the references, and the editorial style. This practice is in line with the policy of the programme in Labour Relations Management and Industrial Psychology at the North-West University.
Acknowledgement of financial assistance towards this research is hereby given to the National Research Foundation (NRF). All opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at are those of the author and must not be attributed to the National Research Foundation.
iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I herewith express my appreciation to the following individuals who supported me throughout the completion of this dissertation. To all my family members, friends and people who were willing to give me the time to do the research needed: I thank you for your support, love and patience. I want to express my appreciation to the following persons in particular:
My heavenly Father, without whom none of this would have been possible. My mentor, Dr Elsabé Keyser.
All the participants from the considered chemical industries. My husband, Jan Swanepoel.
v SUMMARY
Title: Experiences of the psychological contract, work engagement and life satisfaction of learners in the chemical industry
Key words: skills development, learners‟ expectations, employer obligations, employee obligations, state of the psychological contract, trust, violation of the psychological contract, employability, life satisfaction and work engagement.
The rapid change within the South African workplace and competitiveness of organisations required employed and unemployed individuals to be trained and retrained as a large number of the South African population is unskilled. In the chemical industry employability of individuals is of extra ordinarily importance to both employer and individual. One of the main focuses of the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA) is to enable learners through the promotion of employability to enter into learnerships to develop the necessary skills to develop sustainable livelihoods (CHIETA, 2011).
There are high expectations of the learnerships system which was implemented during 2001 in South Africa. This system is set as a key strategic component of the National Skills Development Strategy, 2011-2016. Learnership programmes are implemented in South African organisations which is a great platform for employee development. Employees are afforded the opportunity to broaden their knowledge in the studied field and gain the needed skills within the organisation (Department of Labour, 1997).
Learnerships are seen as a demand driven formal labour market tool, to address the existing need for critical, scarce - high and intermediate - skills levels. Simultaneously, it is seen as an employment-creation mechanism at the low and intermediate skills levels. This statement is a fundamental principle of a survey done on learnerships (Smith, Jennings, & Solanki, 2005). Researchers concluded that learnership programmes are the ideal for employees to acquire the needed skills to become competent and to provide jobs for the unemployed and in this manner enhance employability (Smith et al., 2005).
The main aim of article one was to determine the differences in the levels of the psychological contracts, violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations, employability, life satisfaction and work engagement between individual variables (type of
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learnership contracts, gender, race, age, date of commencement of learnership, date of completion of learnership). A cross-sectional survey design was used. A total of 237 learners completed the questionnaire. The psychological contract scale, violation of the psychological contract scale, learners‟ expectations scale, employability scale, life satisfaction scale, work engagement scale and biographical scale were administered. The results indicated that a statistically significant difference was obtained for age, date of commencement of learnership and date of completion of learnership, but no relationship exists with type of learnership contract, gender and race.
The aim of the second article was to determine the relationship between learners within learnership psychological contract, state of the psychological contract, expectations and violations of psychological contract, employability, work engagement and life satisfaction. Furthermore, the study strives to determine whether violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations and employability could predict life satisfaction of learners. A practically significant relationship with a medium effect exists between violation of the psychological contract, state of psychological contract (negative), and employability (positive). A positive practically significant relationship exists between state of psychological contract and work engagement. No relationship was found between employability, life satisfaction and work engagement. A positive practically significant relationship with a medium effect exists between life satisfaction and work engagement. Employer obligations and employability predict life satisfaction. The state of the psychological contract (trust) and life satisfaction predict work engagement of learners.
vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration Remarks ii iii Acknowledgements iv Summary v List of tables ix List of figures xi
List of diagram xii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.1 INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM STATEMENT 1
1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 6
1.2.1 General objectives 6
1.2.2 Specific objectives 6
1.3 PARADIGM PERSPECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH 7
1.3.1 Intellectual climate 7
1.3.2 Discipline 8
1.3.3 Meta-theoretical assumptions 8
1.3.4 Theoretical beliefs 9
1. 4 RESEARCH METHOD 11
1.4.1 Phase 1: Literature study 11
1.4.2 Phase 2: Empirical study 12
viii 1.4.2.2 Participants 12 1.4.2.3 Measuring instruments 12 1.4.2.4 Statistical analyses 14 1.4.2.5 Research procedure 16 1.5 Ethical considerations 16 1.6 Chapter division 17 References 18
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH ARTICLE 1 25
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH ARTICLE 2 70
CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1 Conclusions 108
4.2 Limitations of this study 110
4.3 Recommendations 111
4.3.1 Recommendations for organisations 111
4.3.2 Recommendations for future research 112
References 113
ix LIST OF TABLES
2
Table Description Page
Table 1
Chapter 2: Research Article 1
Training for the unemployed by subsector and type 37
Table 2 Compilation of study population 46
Table 3 The descriptive statistics, alpha coefficient and Pearson correlations
50
Table 4 MANOVA – differences between learners‟ expectations, employer obligations, employee obligations, state of psychological contract, violation of psychological contract, employability and life satisfaction
51
Table 5 ANOVA‟s – Differences in learners‟ age, learners‟ expectations, employer obligations, employee obligations, state of psychological contract, violation of psychological contract, employability and life satisfaction
51
Table 6 ANOVA‟s – Differences in Date of commencement of learnership, learners‟ expectations, employer obligations, employee obligations, state of psychological contract, violation of psychological contract, employability and life satisfaction
52
Table 7 ANOVA‟s – Differences in date of completion of learnership, learners‟ expectations, employer obligations, employee obligations, state of psychological contract, violation of psychological contract, employability and life satisfaction.
x Chapter 3: Research Article 2
Table 1 Compilation of study population 86
Table 2 Descriptive statistics, Alpha coefficients and Pearson correlation
between scales
90
Table 3 Multiple Regression Analyses with learners life satisfaction as a dependent variable and employer obligations, employee obligations, state of psychological contract, violations of psychological contract, expectations, employability and work engagement as independent variables
92
Table 4 Multiple Regression Analyses with learners‟ work engagement as a dependent variable and employer obligations, employee obligations, state of psychological contract, violations of psychological contract, expectations, employability and life satisfaction as independent variables
93
xi LIST OF FIGURES
3
Figure Description Page
Chapter 1: Introduction and Problem Statement Figure 1 Conceptual framework on the differences between the
psychological and the social contract and work-outcomes
xii LIST OF DIAGRAM
Diagram Description Page
Chapter 2: Research Article 1
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.1 INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM STATEMENT
Education and training comprises a significant part in the development of employees (Coetzee, 2002). The Department of Labour contributes great support to the development of South African citizens through the various skills development initiatives, e.g. following the Skills Development Act 97 of 1998 (SDA); Skills Levy Act 9 of 1999 (SDL) and the National Skills Development Strategy 2011-2016 (NSDS). The chemical industry is categorised under the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA), seen as one of the more competent Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETA‟s) in the country. As the current milieu is that of an ageing population, it is crucial for people aged 45 years and older to keep up with current work-related skills and knowledge in order to remain in or return to employment (Ferrier, Burke & Smith, 2008). This study considers the diverse nature of labour force and skills development within the Chemical industry. Banerjee, Galiani, Levinsohn, McLaren and Woolard, (2008, p. 715-740) mentioned that the full-time labour market, particularly the youth, has collapsed and the participation rate of females has significantly increased. Therefore, it is important to focus on individual variables of learners within learnerships.
One of the main focuses of the CHIETA is the promotion of employability of learners entering a learnership by the CHIETA. Learnerships will enable learners to develop the necessary skills in order to develop sustainable livelihoods (CHIETA, 2011). Employability can be seen as a very important factor before training or employing employees and can be defined as an achievement and their potential to gain a job. Achievements are related to acquire skills and knowledge itself but most importantly to include transferable skills and personal attributes gained from studying in a field of interest (Tin, 2006).
An individual is seen as employable when he/she has gained certain attributes to fulfil a role in the corporate market. A person can be seen as employable once he/she has acquired certain
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contributions as (knowledge, skills, and abilities), which will attribute to the individual being more successful in preferred occupations. According to Viswanathan (2007) employability is more than developing attributes, techniques or experience to enable a learner to get a job, or to progress within a current career. The accent is on learning and less on „employ‟ and more on „ability‟. Therefore, do learners see themselves as more employable after completing a learnership program? If not, do they feel that violation of the learnership and psychological contract agreement has occurred?
Within the chemical industry, it is important to focus on learners‟ perceptions and expectations within learnership programs. The learners are full-time employees within a chemical company or unemployed learners. As there are no previous studies done on the perceptions of learners within a learnership, it is important to do a study on the perceptions of full-time employees as well as unemployed learners within learnerships. Previous studies on the psychological contract mainly focused on the development of managers who enrolled for MBA studies, and not on learners within learnerships (Jeffery, 2010).
As a CHIETA board member and Chairperson for the Joint Stakeholder Forum in South Africa, the researcher was involved in many discussions in meetings concerning learnerships for process operations. The importance of learnerships lies in the fact that these learners are employed with the idea that they will gain enough experience to be able to sustain a job and enrich their skills, seen as a full qualification if it is done through an accredited provider, assessed and a certificate is issued by the CHIETA. This will also be valid in any chemical industry when applying for a job in process operations. Thus the expectations of the learner supersede the learnership contract between learner and employer/company. Trust is violated as soon as their contract expires and they are down and without a job. This in turn has a perpetual effect on their life satisfaction and behaviour (De Cuyper & De Witte, 2006).
A relationship in the work environment is seen as a social interaction, historically originating from the reciprocity norms. The psychological contract is the foundation for the ratio of employment beliefs. Important elements of the psychological contract consist of common promises and obligations made by relevant parties. Guest and Conway (2002) introduced the idea of the state of the psychological contract. Compliance to promises and commitments made as well as the fairness and implications within a trust relationship are referred to as the state of the psychological contract (Stoner & Gallagher, 2010). The following question can be
3
posed: Do learners trust the company regarding promises made (verbally or in writing) regard to the learnership?
Delivery or fulfilment or breach of the contract, is being widely studied, and some studies have even expanded research on the dissimilarity between the breach and violation (Robinson & Brown, 2004). Much less well established is the status of fairness and trust in existing research on the psychological contract. Guest and Conway (2002) have argued in favour of including both variables in research on the psychological contract as components of its state, thus reincorporating the contributions in the study of the psychological contract and employment relations. No research was previously done on learners and whether they experience the state of the psychological contract equally to permanent employees within learnerships.
The status of fairness and trust are well established in existing research on the psychological contract. Conway and Briner (2005) stated that both variables are a positive inclusion in studies of the psychological contract as components of the state of the psychological contract. Lack of research done on the experience of unemployed learners and full-time employees within learnerships and their state of the psychological contract.
As both parties has beliefs coming from the exchange relationship regards to their psychological contracts and their beliefs and expectations are not met they can feel that the psychological contract is violated, cause distrust, disappointment and possibly the termination of the relationship itself (Robinson & Rousseau, 1994). Violation of the psychological contract is explained by Robinson and Morrison (2000, p. 545-546) as “the emotional and attitudinal state that may, under certain conditions, follow from the belief that one's employer failed to adequately maintain the psychological contract”.
Violation of the psychological contract may lead to turnover and grievances, and may also affect security and satisfaction of individuals that can result in reduced organisational commitment, Rousseau (2011, p. 191-220). Implications are that individuals may interpret the terms and conditions of an agreement different from what the employer intended it to mean, which could lead to a dispute, conflict of interest, dissatisfaction and this may have an impact on life and job satisfaction (Fitzgerald, Haythornthwaite, Suchday & Ewart, 2003;
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Jurado, Gurpegui, Moreno, Fernández, Luna, & Gálvez, 2005; Piko, 2006; Svensen, Arnets, Ursin & Eriksen, 2007).
The remedy for the experience of violation in the psychological contract by learners is the understanding of the various contributing factors to that of negative experience. Once the contributing factors are identified it will promote the positive experience of employees that will build on their experiences and duplicate them in similar organisational situations (Heller, Judge & Watson, 2002). The question that can be posed is whether learners who experience violation also have higher negative outcomes (life satisfaction) than those who do not experience violation.
Saks (2006) stated that justice perception and perceived support received from the employer will persuade employees to engage more optimistically in the working environment. An employee has the need to be trusted and supported by the employer in order to develop a successful relationship. The researcher‟s opinion is that resources such as training and developing “learners” or employees through learnerships will encourage learners to work engagement.
The significance of work engagement has positive returns for the employer. Job satisfaction and work performance have the tendency to be present, only if the employee experiences high levels of life satisfaction. A relationship exists between life satisfaction and well-being: people who experience a better quality of life satisfaction also report better well-being (Campbell, Converse & Rodgers, 1980). Life satisfaction are one of three indicators of well-being, the other two being (positive affect and negative affect), which is a total evaluation of feelings and attitudes about one‟s life at a specific moment in time, ranging between negative and positive (Beutell, 2006). One may ask the question: Are learners within learnerships in the chemical industry experiencing work engagement and do they experience life satisfaction?
Research studies proved that work engagement and life satisfaction play a role in positive human behaviour and can be defined as individuals‟ psychological well-being, evaluated by their mood status, social interaction and goal achievement, self-concepts, and self-perception to cope with everyday life (Bakker, Schaufeli, Leiter & Taris, 2008). The trust relationship between management, supervisors and employees is a contributing factor in developing and
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maintaining the level of work engagement of employees (Chughtai & Buckley, 2008). The studies by Parzefall and Hakanen (2010) and McInnis (2012) was the only psychological contract study to measure work engagement. Therefore, it is necessary to address the existing shortcoming by studying the relationship between the psychological contract and work engagement. More specifically no researches have looked at the psychological contract of learners and their work engagement.
The subsequent research questions are formulated based on the above-mentioned narrative of the research problems:
How are the psychological contracts, violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations, employability, life satisfaction and work engagement conceptualised in the literature?
Do differences occur in the levels of the psychological contracts, violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations, employability, life satisfaction, work engagement and individual variables?
What is the relationship between psychological contracts, violation of the psychological contract, learner‟s expectations, employability, life satisfaction and work engagement?
Can experience of violation of the psychological contract, learner‟s expectations and employability be used to predict life satisfaction and work engagement?
The study will contribute to information regarding learners‟ psychological contract, violation of the psychological contract of learners, expectations of learners, employability, life satisfaction and work engagement. In South Africa, information on learners is limited and little documentation of similar information exists. It will also shed more light on life satisfaction and work engagement of learners, thereby providing companies with more detail on learnership with information on the psychological contract, violation of the psychological contract of learners, expectations of learners, employability, life satisfaction and work engagement.
6 1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1.2.1 General objectives
The general objective of the study is to investigate how work engagement and life satisfaction are influenced by learners‟ expectations, employability as well as violation of the psychological contract, and what the role is of the psychological contract and the state of the psychological contract.
1.2.2 Specific objectives Article 1
To determine how the psychological contract, violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations, employability, life satisfaction and work engagement are conceptualised in the literature.
To determine the differences in the levels of the psychological contracts, violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations, employability, life satisfaction and work engagement between individual variables (type of learnership contracts, gender, race, age, commence date of learnership, completion date of learnership).
Article 2
To determine the relationship between psychological contract, violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations, employability, life satisfaction and work engagement in a sample of learners.
To determine whether experience of violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations and employability can be used to predict life satisfaction and work engagement.
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1.3 PARADIGM PERSPECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH
The research is directed through a specific paradigm perspective including the intellectual climate and the market of intellectual resources (Mouton & Marais, 1996). Babbie (2013) explains paradigms when referring to basically the same thing, i.e. the approach the researcher selects for studying a particular phenomenon. Where the general approach to the study – i.e. all the decisions a researcher makes in planning the study - is referred to as design, as is the case in Creswell (2012), the more specific step or action in this process is referred to as a tradition of inquiry. The importance is that all scientific research lead is done within a specific paradigm, or manner in which one‟s research material are seen. The researcher must therefore decide within which paradigm he/she is working, have good knowledge of the nature of his selected paradigm, and put this in a precise manner in his research report to clearly and unambiguously maintain communication with his reading public (De Vos, Strydom, Fouché & Delport, 2011).
1.3.1 Intellectual climate
Direction is given to the study, through a definite paradigm perspective including intellectual climate and the market of intellectual resources (Lundin, 2005; Mouton & Marais, 1996). The variation of meta-theoretical values and beliefs and non-epistemological convictions are referred to by the intellectual climate that are held and certified by those practising within a discipline in a specific time-frame.
The intellectual climate surrounding this study is based on assumption proven through previous international research done in the field of psychological contracts, violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations, employability, life satisfaction, work engagement and biographic variables – the relationship between learner, psychological contracts, and violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations, employability, life satisfaction and work engagement. No previous research has been done on the psychological contract and learners within South Africa.
8 1.3.2 Discipline
This study falls within the borders of behavioural sciences and more specific within labour relations management, industrial psychology and industrial sociology.
1.3.3 Meta-theoretical assumptions
Involvements of meta-theoretical assumptions are concerned with other assumptions of theories and the paradigms for this research are separated. Firstly, the literature review that focuses on the humanistic paradigm and social exchange theory. Secondly, the empirical study through the phenomenological paradigm.
The humanistic paradigm is a notion that emphasizes humane aspects e.g. to resolve conflicts constructively, to encourage growth and development, to involve others in decision making and to motivate by serving as a role model. It also states that people constantly strive towards becoming self-actualised or fully functioning individuals. Part of the work of Maslow and Rogers, humanism‟s point of departure is that people value positive regard, personal growth, psychological health and optimal functioning, implying that individuals are conscious, are more than the sum of their total parts, live purposefully and are constantly making choices (Plug, Louw, Gouws & Meyer, 1997).
According to Skinner (1978) the following basic assumptions are relevant in this regard: the biased experience within an individual‟s frame of reference must be taken into account to understand behaviour (phenomenology), although it must be understood that behaviour is not inhibited by either past experience or current circumstances of the individual (determinism). Instead, people can make choices (free will).
Relevant to this paradigm, people can be influenced by their association with others and they are more than just the sum of their parts. Bergh and Theron (2009) states that the relationship between the following basic suppositions in this ratio must be understood in terms of the subjective experience of the individual (phenomenology):
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behaviour is not restricted by either previous experience of the individual or the individuals existing situation (determinism). Therefore, people can make their own decision (free will);
the notion that individuals are intrinsically good, have a free will which lead to that not all actions is established;
that individuals are unique and have an inherent drive to achieve potential;
individuals are free agents with the skill to make decisions, be deliberate and conscious during their behaviour.
As cited by Bergh and Theron (2009), the humanistic approach is not based on a single theory but made up of various theories within the phenomenological, existential and self-theories. Compared to other personality theories, these are not personality theories but rather idealistic ideas about how people exist and find meaning in life. This is well thought-out essential norm for psychological health (DeCarvalho, 1991).
The psychological contract is historically viewed as a social exchange contract theory that is seen as an extension of a philosophical concept (Keyser, 2010; Roehling, 1997; Schein, 1978). Within the employment contract a contract is about exchange between the parties. As mentioned by Blau (2009), the social exchange theory is all about parties providing something to one another, with the expectations that the other party would counter-perform in return. These contracts between the parties can change over time.
Nowadays researchers view the employers‟ perceptions of the employment relationship more and more from an individual perspective nature. Therefore, it becomes more relevant for both researchers and practitioners within the employment relations field (Freese, 2007).
1.3.4 Theoretical beliefs
10 A. Conceptual definitions
Conceptual definitions relevant to this study:
Expectations: „Met expectations‟ are explained by Porter and Steers (1973) as differences that are experience positively or negatively by a person on the job and what he expected to receive.
Psychological contract: The psychological contract was defined by Rousseau (1989, p.123) as “an individual‟s beliefs regarding the terms and conditions of a reciprocal exchange relationship the terms and conditions of a reciprocal exchange agreement between that focal person and another party”.
State of the psychological contract: The state of the psychological contract comprises of a broader evaluation as the work relationship, this was formed by the pledges and obligations of the psychological contract, but go beyond them. Trust was defined by Robinson (1996, p. 576) as "one's expectations, assumptions, or beliefs about the likelihood that another's future actions would be beneficial, favourable, or at least not detrimental to one's interest". According to Rousseau, Sitkin, Burt and Camerer (1998) trust is defined as a psychological condition that consists of the willingness of a person to accept vulnerability based on positive expectations of intend or behaviour of others.
Life satisfaction: Guest and Conway (2000) stated that life satisfaction can be seen as high levels of commitment which lead to improved organisational commitment, lower absenteeism and turnover levels, improved performance, pro-active behaviour and learning, motivation and life satisfaction.
Work Engagement: The definition of work engagement is a positive rewarding, emotional-motivational condition of job-related well-being which can also be considered to be cognitive, emotional and behavioural. Work engagement is also characterised by strength, commitment and inclusion as well as a job-related state of fulfilment within employees (Bakker, Schaufeli, Leiter & Taris, 2008; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004).
Learners: The learners can either be full-time employees or unemployed people within a chemical company (CHIETA, 2011).
11 Model
The model can illustrate what impact certain aspects have on relationships and the dimensions thereof (Mouton & Marais, 1996). This study was used as a guideline for the formulation of the psychological contract that will be applied to the learnership program. A psychological contract exists when there is a learner, learnership and the employer that provides development opportunities. This framework is demonstrated below.
Figure 1. Conceptual model that act as guideline for the content of this research.
1.4 RESEARCH METHOD 1.4.1 Literature study
A complete review regarding the following is done: the state of the psychological contract, the forces thereof, the factors comprising the state of the psychological contract, and the state of the psychological contract experience. The literature reviews focus on research indications as to the factors relating to psychological contracts, violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations, employability, life satisfaction and work engagement. The sources consulted to trace good information on these constructs include: internet, emerald, library catalogues, newspapers, academic books, scientific articles, published master‟s studies and theses. Control Variables Individual Age Gender Race Tenure Independent Variable Learnership contract
Full time learners
Unemployed learners Outcome Variable Learners’ prospects Employability Expectations Employee Well-being Life Satisfaction Attitudes Engagement Intervening Variable Psychological contract Content (Employer and Employee Obligation) State of the Psychological Contact
12 1.4.2 Empirical study
1.4.2.1 Research design
The research is conducted within the quantitative paradigm. The quantitative method explains the proof of the theory by measuring variables to construct numerical outcomes (Fields, 2013). A cross-sectional field study has been used. Collection of primary data took place and was used during the research. The data was analysed statistically by using the SPSS 21 programme (IBM Corporation, 2013).
1.4.2.2 Participants
Learners within learnerships employed in Process operations by the Chemical Industries in the Vaal Triangle and KwaZulu-Natal, Karbochem, South African Synthetic Oil Limited (SASOL) and South African Calcium Carbide (SACC) were identified to take part in the research. A convenient sample (n = 270) was selected of learners in learning programmes for a time period of 12 up to 18 months. There was a response rate of 87.8%.
The final research proposal was sent to the companies in order to grant permission. Thereafter, letters were forwarded to the Training assessors to inform them about the proposed study. A letter to the various training providers was drafted and then signed by the Site Managers in order to request permission to enter into the training providers‟ premises. Times on which to complete the research were decided on.
1.4.2.3 Measuring instruments
A Biographic questionnaire was utilised to gain information on learners concerning their gender, age, race and type of learnership.
The Expectations Questionnaire, as developed by Isaksson et al. (2003) for the measurement of learner expectations. These expectations are measured against 4-items within this questionnaire. Questions on this range from “I expect that I will have to leave here once my present employment contract with this organisation has run out” to “I have been promised a permanent contract with this organisation when my present learnership expires” (Isaksson et al., 2003). The questions were based on a 5-point scale varying from 1 (strongly disagree)
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to 5 (strongly agree). Prior research obtained Cronbach alpha in Europe range from 0.74 to 0.91 (Isaksson et al., 2003).
The Employability Questionnaire of De Witte (2000) measured employability of individuals. The questionnaire was based on a 4-item scale measuring the variable employability. Questions include: “I am optimistic that I would find a job, if I looked for one” to “I could easily switch to another employer, if I wanted to?” (Isaksson et al., 2003). The questionnaire also appears to have adequate and consistent psychometric properties across the datasets in Europe where Cronbach alpha coefficient was obtained between 0.84 and 0.90 (Isaksson et al., 2003).
Psychological contract obligations of the employer and employee, state of the psychological contract and violations of the psychological contract were measured by means of the measurement instrument that was developed by members of the research team of the Psychological Contract across Nations (PSYCONES). The Employer Obligations Questionnaire focuses on the promises and obligations made from time to time by employees‟ to their employer. The Employer Obligations Questionnaire exists of 15 items. The choice of questions within this questionnaire range from "Has your organisation promised or committed itself to provide you with interesting work?" to "Has your organisation promised or committed itself to help you deal with problems you encounter outside work?" (Isaksson et al., 2003). The questions are arranged according to a 6-point scale varying from 0 (No) to 5 (Yes, and promise fully kept). In a study conducted in South Africa the following Cronbach‟s alpha coefficient was obtained 0.93 by Keyser (2010); and 0.95 by De Beer (2011), this is an indication of the internal reliability of this questionnaire.
The Employee Obligations Questionnaire focuses on the promises and obligations made from time to time by employees‟ to their employer. This is a 16 item survey. An example of questions in this questionnaire differ from "Have you promised or committed yourself to go to work even if you don't feel particularly well?" to "Have you promised or committed yourself to work enthusiastically on jobs you would prefer not to be doing?"
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The questions was arranged according to a 6-point frequency-rating scale vary from 0 (No) and to 5 (Yes, the entire promise was kept). In research done by De Beer (2011), the Cronbach alpha coefficient was 0.94.
The State of the Psychological Contract consists of 7 items. Replies were given on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (totally). It includes questions such as "Do you feel you are rewarded fairly for the amount of work you put into your job?" and "Do you feel you are fairly paid for the work you do?" South African studies by Yazbek (2009) obtained a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.86, and De Beer (2011) obtained a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.85.
The Violations of obligations was measured by the Psychological Contract Questionnaire, as developed by Isaksson et al. (2003). The questions focus on six feelings of employees (happy, angry, pleased, violated, disappointed and grateful). The questionnaire comprises of 6 items as rated on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree).
The Life Satisfaction Scale by Guest and Conway (2000) was used to do the measuring on employee life satisfaction. The life satisfaction scale applies a 7-point frequency scale ranging from 1 (Very dissatisfied) to 7 (Very satisfied). The questions ranged from “How satisfied do you currently feel about your life in general” to “How satisfied do you currently feel about the financial situation of your household?” (Guest & Conway, 2000). According to the Cronbach alpha coefficient acquired in Europe the range was between 0.80 and 0.86.
The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) of Schaufeli, Salanova, González-Romá, and Bakker (2002, p. 71-92) was used to measure employee work engagement. The UWES has three scales, namely vigour (six items), dedication (five items), and absorption samples of items relating to the three dimensions, being the following: “I am bursting with energy in my job” (vigour); “I find my work full of meaning and purpose” (dedication); and “When I am working, I forget everything around me” (absorption). According to several studies Schaufeli, Salanova, González-Romá and Bakker, (2002, p.71-92) and Storm (2002) the range of the alpha coefficients found was between 0.68 and 0.91. The UWES uses a six-point frequency scale ranging from 0 (never) to 6 (always).
15 1.4.2.4 Statistical analysis
The SPSS 21 programme (IBM Corporation, 2013) was applied to do statistical analysis through the application of the following methods: Descriptive statistics, for example means, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis were used to analyse data. Not only statistics for significant testing should be used, but also those elements affected need to be recognised to test the relationship of the statistical significant.
The Cronbach alpha coefficient and Inter-item correlations coefficients are the methods used in the determination of validity and reliability of the measuring instruments (Clark & Watson, 1995). The construct of the measurement instrument was done through a key element analysis. The two measuring instruments used to determine how many factors were involved in the analysis of the study were Eigen values and scree-plot.
The Pearson‟s product moment correlation coefficient was used to indicate the affiliation between variables (levels of Statistical significance = p<0.05; a cut-off point of 0.30 represents a medium effect and a cut-off of 0.50 represents a large effect) (Cohen, Cohen, West & Aiken, 2003). The use of statistical significance testing is criticised by Steyn (2009), who suggested the effect sizes to be established to verify the significance of a statistically important kinship.
The traits certain groups possess are determined by dependent variables. The percentage of a dependant variable is determined by applying a multi-regression analysis that can be predicted by the independent variables. All individuals have different characteristics which are influential in the psychological contract. If a dependant variable plays no role as a determining factor in a statistical process, Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) should not be used.
Separate ANOVA‟s can be programmed and divided each variable separately, to provide a single outcome measure. If there is a correlation between variables that are used and the range is 1.00, the assumption can be made that the same item is being measured and it can be seen as redundant. Only one ANOVA can be computed for a single variable. One can determine the correlation between or among the independent variables by using analysis if the factorial design is zero. When MANOVA was used and the effect was significant,
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ANOVA was used to determine which variable would be affected, and relationship would be analysed for practical significance.
ANOVA can be described as procedures that can be used to compare different sample means in order to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to establish whether the means of the people analysed is determined. ANOVA is developed to address research questions that determine dependant variables.
The Cohen‟s benchmark method of research is used to evaluate the different sizes of effects. Some researchers used this research method as a strict method to evaluate certain effects. (Thompson, 2002a; 2002b).
Standard multiple regression analysis will be conducted. A regression analysis is utilised in establishing the percentage variance in the dependent variable that is predicted by the independent variables. As mentioned by Tabachnick and Fidell (2012) the relationship among an independent variable and a dependent variable reveal variance shared with the dependent variable. A number of the variance may be expected from other independent variables (Cohen, 1988).
1.4.2.5 Research procedure
The study commenced with a thorough literature study on the subject. Permission was requested from different companies with learners with headquarters in the Vaal Triangle and KwaZulu-Natal. Once permission had been obtained, assessors of learners were requested to give permission for their learners to partake in the study. A sample of 270 learners was used to complete the questionnaire. Only 237 participants completed the questionnaire. Thereafter, the data analysis took place and results will be reported in the form a two research articles.
1.5. ETHICAL CONSIDERATION
Learners within the Chemical Industries in the Vaal Triangle and KwaZulu-Natal, Karbochem, SASOL and SACC were identified to take part in the research. The sourcing of permission from different companies with learners was done in the Vaal Triangle and KwaZulu-Natal.
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In order to obtain permission from the Site Managers to do a study on the various premises as well as obtaining permission to enter the premises, a letter has been drafted including the final research proposal, in order to explain the purpose of the study. After receipt of approval letters were drafted to the Training assessors to inform them of the study, and get their buy-in. The sourcing of permission from different companies with learners was being done in the Vaal Triangle and KwaZulu-Natal. Upon this permission being granted, assessors of these learners were requested to give permission so that these learners may partake in the study. A sample of 237 learners was used to complete the questionnaire. After completion, analysis of the data will take place, and results will be posted in the form of two research articles.
Upon this permission being granted, assessors of these learners were requested to give permission for these learners to partake in the study. The completion of the questionnaire was on a voluntary base. It was also explained to the participants that answering of the questionnaire will also be anonymous to further create a secure milieu for participants. In each questionnaire a letter of consent was attached securing that results would be handled confidential and anonymous. Participants will receive feedback on the response of the research.
1.6 CHAPTER DIVISION
The chapters in this dissertation are presented as follows:
Chapter 1: Introduction and problem statement.
Chapter 2: Research article 1: The psychological contract, violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations, employability, life satisfaction, work engagement and individual variables.
Chapter 3: Research article 2: The relationship between learner psychological contracts, violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations, employability, work engagement and life satisfaction.
18 References
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25 CHAPTER 2
ARTICLE 1
This article is in press:
Swanepoel, F. J. P. & Keyser, E. (in press). The psychological contract, violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations, employability, life satisfaction, work engagement and individual variables. Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences.
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THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT, VIOLATION OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT, LEARNERS’ EXPECTATIONS, EMPLOYABILITY, LIFE SATISFACTION, WORK ENGAGEMENT AND INDIVIDUAL VARIABLES
ABSTRACT
The main aim of this article was to determine the expectation of learners in learnership differences in the levels of the psychological contracts, violation of the psychological contract, learners‟ expectations, employability, life satisfaction and work engagement between biographical variables (type of learnership contracts, gender, race, age, date of commencement of learnership, date of completion of learnership). A cross-sectional survey design was used. A total of 237 learners completed the questionnaire. The psychological contract scale, violation of the psychological contract scale, learners‟ expectations scale, employability scale, life satisfaction scale, work engagement scale, and biographical scale were administered. The results indicated a statistically significant difference for age, date of commencement of learnership, and date of completion of learnership, but no relationship with type of learnership contract, gender, or race.
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INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM STATEMENT
The chemical industry in South Africa is the biggest of its kind on the African mainland. It is complicated and diverse, with final products composited of chemical raw materials blended through various chemical operation processes. (CHIETA, 2011). According to Becker (1992), human capital theory focuses on current time and money invested in employees‟ education, training and development that could lead to a higher return on investment for the shareholders and company. Also, individuals who invest in their own skills development do so in the belief of higher salaries in the future and expect extended employment contracts to follow.
Training and development have become critical for employee‟s employability and marketability, through the constant development and improvement of skills and knowledge. Organisations play a huge role in the development of their employees and in adapting to new developments such as ever-changing technology (Tomlinson, 2002). Employees prefer being employed through companies that promote career opportunities by training programmes for career developing, which are new skills that are learnt and sharpened (Cataldo, Van Assen & Alessandro, 2000; Jiang & Klein, 1999).
The South African Department of Labour (2004) conducted a study that gave a number of shortfalls of skilled individuals on the semi-professional level. It was then predicted that the shortage would have to be met through employing skilled people from abroad to work in South Africa. The existing problem within the South African labour market is that the current skill levels of individuals are not compatible with the skills required in the labour market. In order to address these deficiencies, the Skills Development Act No. 97 of 1998 was implemented (Putsoene, 2003). The responsibility to resolve the problem of skill shortages without delay was given to the Department of Labour and Sector of Education and Training Authority (SETA). The SETA for the Chemical Industry is the Chemicals Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA). Learnerships were set by the Skills Development Act of 1998 as a framework for adult learning in the workplace through an accredited training provider, as well as to ensure the relation between structured learning and years of service, and ensuring the acquisition of a nationally recognised qualification. Two types of learnerships currently exist: firstly, learnerships for permanent employees; and
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secondly, learnerships for unemployed individuals (Canning & Lang, 2004; Davies & Farquharson, 2004; Payne, 2002).
The learnership system was implemented because there was a great need for more skilled individuals. Employees could get on-the-job training and be qualified within 12 to 18 months. All learnership programmes comprise theoretical, as well as practical training, and their skills will be of great advantage to the organisation due to the effort put into a learnership programme. The longer an individual is in a learnership programme, the more he or she becomes of use to the company - more than those starting fresh (Department of Labour, 2004). Therefore, it is important to look into the learnership programme duration for a learner as this could determine the amount of theoretical and practical training needed.
Individuals of the age group between 45 years and older are of high value to a company due to their acquired knowledge and skills, and it is important that they are encouraged to remain in their current employment relationship (Ferrier, Burke & Smith, 2008). More importantly, this article considers the diverse nature of a labour force and skills development within the chemical industry. As mentioned by Considine (2001), the full-time labour market, particularly regarding the youth, has collapsed and the participation rate of females has significantly increased.
As there is a perception that there is a lesser need for older employees to be developed, companies tend to lessen emphasis on the excellence of training for these employees. However, in contrast to this perception, it is important for older employees to develop their skills in order to emerge with more variable career paths and to enter another state with accumulated skills. (Colquitt, LePine & Noe, 2000). Finally, a cohesive effect is expected to convince the substance that young employees attach to development as a means to guaranteed employability.
At the CHIETA Conference in 1995 Doctor Raymond Patel (CEO of the CHIETA) stated that employability skills are those “that are required not only to gain employment, but also to progress within an enterprise so as to achieve one‟s potential and contribute successfully to enterprise strategic directions” (Marock, 2008, p. 5). Furthermore, it is important to understand employability in terms of the context of where the individual is located (Marock, 2008). Smith, Jennings and Solanki (2005) explained that learnership programs offer
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guidance to new entrants that need to develop their acquired knowledge in order to obtain the necessary skills to become employable.
Employers are obliged to employ a learner and provide him or her with practical work experience for the defined period. Opportunities will be made available for the learner to attend off-the-job education and training interventions. The learner will work in return for the employer and avail him-/herself to attend any education/training programmes specified (Mummenthey, 2008). Therefore, individuals trained in a chemical learnership can be employable at any chemical industry because, within a company‟s skills development programme, the company can indicate how many learners will be appointed within each learnership programme.
From the above-mentioned, one may raise the questions of whether the unemployed learners perceive that they will be employed within the chemical industry after having completed the learnership, or whether full-time employees within the learnership programme expect that they will receive promotion or that they will be more employable within the chemical industry. Hence, it is important for the focus within the chemical industry to be on the perceptions and expectations of full-time employed learners and temporarily unemployed learners and their expectations to be employed after the completion of learnership programmes. No previous research that focuses on learners‟ expectations within South Africa could be found. The closest study was on MBA students‟ expectations after completion of their studies. The psychological contract has become an important aspect in human resource management, employment relations, and organisational psychological literature. Surprisingly, the psychological contract does not play a major role in research done with apprentices and trainees on a large scale (Smith, 2000).
The psychological contract consists of a set of mutual expectations, promises, and obligations between the employer and employee. Meeting of promises and obligations will depend on the involved parties that will also determine the development of a trust relationship, which refers to the state of the contract (Stoner & Gallagher, 2010). The following two questions can be posed: Firstly, what do learners believe they should receive because of perceived promises made by their employer (verbally or in written form)? Secondly, is the experience of the state of the psychological contract within a learnership similar between unemployed learners and employed learners?
